Transcript of "Congress"

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Congress Andrew Martin

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Theories of Representation <ul><li>Delegate Representation </li></ul>Representatives should “act in the same manner as the whole body would act, were they present.” - Thomas Paine From www.billofrightsinstitute.org

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Theories of Representation <ul><li>Gyroscopic Representation </li></ul>Gyroscope: A device consisting of a spinning mass, typically a disk or wheel, mounted on a base so that its axis can turn freely in one or more directions and thereby maintain its orientation regardless of any movement of the base. - American Heritage Dictionary

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Theories of Representation <ul><li>Surrogate Representation </li></ul>Representing the interests of some marginalized group outside a legislator’s own district

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Congress & the Constitution <ul><li>Article I of the Constitution deals with Congress </li></ul><ul><ul><li>This suggests that the founders intended Congress to be the most powerful of the three branches of government </li></ul></ul>

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The Details of Article I <ul><li>Section One: Bicameral legislature </li></ul><ul><li>Section Two: Length of terms for House members and qualifications for service </li></ul><ul><li>Section Three: Selection of Senators, length of terms </li></ul><ul><li>Section Four: Congressional election process </li></ul><ul><li>Section Seven: How a bill becomes a law </li></ul><ul><li>Section Eight: Powers of the legislative branch </li></ul>

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Membership in Congress <ul><li>Constitutional Requirements </li></ul>Senate Must be 30 years old US citizen for 9 years State Resident House Must be 25 years old US citizen for 7 years State Resident

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Membership in Congress <ul><li>Can a body this different from society as a whole truly be representative of the interests of all groups? </li></ul>

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Legislative Rules and Norms <ul><li>Until recently, many norms guided the behavior of members of Congress. Members were supposed to specialize in a small number of issues, defer to members with longer tenure in office, never criticize anyone personally, and wait their turn to speak and introduce legislation. </li></ul>

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Standing Committee System <ul><li>Members of Congress are assigned to one or more permanent committees </li></ul><ul><li>These committees – known as standing committees – are where the bulk of Congressional work takes place </li></ul>

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Advantages to the Committee System <ul><li>Members can become policy experts </li></ul><ul><li>More issues can be considered </li></ul><ul><li>Legislators can be on committees relevant to constituents </li></ul><ul><li>“ Safety valve” function </li></ul>

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What Do Committees Do? <ul><li>1946: Legislative Preauthorization Act </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Every piece of legislation introduced for consideration must first be referred to a committee </li></ul></ul><ul><li>1970s: House adopted process of multiple referrals </li></ul>Referral and Jurisdiction

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What Do Committees Do? <ul><li>Ninety percent of all measures get tabled in committee </li></ul><ul><li>Measures not tabled are given a hearing, occasionally with celebrity witnesses </li></ul>Hearings

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What Do Committees Do? <ul><li>In this stage, the actual language of the bill is forged </li></ul><ul><li>Prime sponsor: member responsible for crafting the language </li></ul>Markup

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What Do Committees Do? <ul><li>Report : summarizes bill’s provisions and the rationale behind it </li></ul><ul><li>Rules Report : stipulates whether a bill is open, closed, modified or subject to the time-structured rule </li></ul>Reports and Rules Report

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What Do Committees Do? <ul><li>Special committees may conduct investigations or hold hearings, such as the investigations relating to the firing of several U.S. Attorneys </li></ul>Bureaucratic Oversight and Investigations